How It All Began: A Childhood Rooted in Product Pondering
Nicole: Welcome, Sahara. Let’s begin with how you bought into Product Administration.
Sahara: “I really feel like I’ve been in Product Administration since I used to be a baby! My dad and mom owned a café, and as an entrepreneurial household, we children all pitched in. My job was creating the menu—from the bodily trifold to the show over our deli—and enabling their on-line presence. This was again when the web was simply rising for small companies. I noticed firsthand how content material and design selections may communicate to customers, entice conduct, and assist develop the enterprise.
In school, I majored in Media Research, specializing in find out how to drive client conduct and buying energy by segmenting and displaying gadgets in strategic methods. After graduating, I grew to become a advisor and enterprise analyst, gathering consumer necessities, prototyping, and validating options to satisfy prospects’ wants and drive enterprise objectives. My enterprise acumen got here from mission administration—managing assets, budgets, and aligning them to actual income metrics.”
Making the Leap: From Challenge Administration to Full-Fledged Product
Nicole: I like that you simply noticed one thing intriguing and simply went for it. After your advisor expertise, how did you transition into an official Product position?
Sahara: “Whereas working at Marriott, I used to be within the room with leads throughout International Operations and Digital, dissecting every step of the traveler’s expertise—from reserving to pre-arrival to departure—and brainstorming how know-how may ease their journey. It lastly clicked: I’d gathered consulting, enterprise, and user-centric expertise. I requested the director of Digital Cellular & Visitor Companies for an opportunity to maneuver into Product. That leap led me to ship industry-leading merchandise at Marriott, Cvent, MLB, and now OfficeSpace.”
Loving the Function: Bridging Consumer Wants and Enterprise Outcomes
Nicole: Product Administration blends creativity, enterprise, and mission administration. What do you’re keen on most about it?
Sahara: “Being on the forefront of bridging user-centric ideas with enterprise targets. In PLG (product-led progress) organizations, we’re driving product performance that delivers actual enterprise outcomes, ensuring there’s sustainable progress. I thrive on collaborating throughout gross sales, advertising and marketing, and companies to uncover challenges, suggest options, and measure affect. PM doesn’t simply develop you professionally—it builds your problem-solving mindset in each a part of your life. (My trip planners can attest to that!)”
Challenges in SaaS and B2B: Prioritization and Alignment
Nicole: What do you discover most difficult in Product Administration?
Sahara: “In a SaaS B2B surroundings, the quantity of requests may be overwhelming. Everybody desires on the roadmap—senior management, shoppers, and inner stakeholders. Every group has its personal targets. Our job is to assemble, validate, and prioritize these inputs objectively. We watch market traits by studying publications and scanning competitor strikes. Instruments like Gainsight or Pendo assist monitor platform utilization, churn dangers, or growth alternatives. We additionally rely closely on insights from client-facing groups: gross sales, help, skilled companies.
Finally, you want KPIs and frameworks to weigh these alternatives. We do discovery with shoppers—validating use circumstances, reviewing prototypes—and produce all of it again to inner groups. Transparency is large. We share what we realized, the way it formed MVP scope, and the incremental worth we anticipate. At OfficeSpace, we even have a CRAFT assembly—Cross-Purposeful Roadmap Alignment and Suggestions—the place gross sales, advertising and marketing, consumer companies, and enablement come collectively to refine resolution choices and prep go-to-market motions. Everybody sees how we arrived at sure priorities, fostering belief and readability.”
Constructing a Product Crew: Key Traits of a Nice PM
Nicole: You’re Vice President with a complete group reporting to you. What qualities do you search when hiring a Product Supervisor?
Sahara:
- Ardour for Downside-Fixing
“PMs have to get to the foundation of consumer challenges whereas protecting that finish aim in thoughts. Every persona has duties they have to accomplish, and the PM should empathize with their frustrations and objectives.” - Curiosity
“It’s straightforward to get siloed by focusing solely on the product line or referencing a slim set of apps. The most effective PMs analysis their area and broader traits, brainstorming revolutionary options. They’re by no means finished studying.” - Progress Mindset
“Your product may flop—perhaps it doesn’t clear up the consumer’s precise drawback. In the event you can be taught from that, fail quick, then iterate, you’ll achieve success.” - Collaboration
“We continually work together with various stakeholders—gross sales, advertising and marketing, dev. A PM should encourage consolation and confidence, bridging a number of departments.” - Enterprise Acumen
“PMs should communicate eloquently about enterprise outcomes. We measure success and hyperlink it to income, retention, or strategic targets, making certain stakeholders see the larger image.”
Recommendation for Ladies in Product: Increase Your Community
Nicole: For ladies particularly, any recommendation for these wanting to interrupt into or develop in Product Administration?
Sahara: “I get requested this rather a lot. I inform girls to develop their community—don’t keep siloed in your group or quick circle. You’ll acquire new insights and broaden your management fashion by attending {industry} occasions, becoming a member of communities, and connecting with friends. Being in skilled improvement teams or communities particularly for ladies is empowering—it provides you a protected area to check concepts, get constructive suggestions, and construct confidence.
And also you’ll discover it helps you step out of your consolation zone, forging a community that fosters studying and progress. There’s a lot alternative when you begin wanting past your day-to-day bubble.”
Nicole: Any final ideas for our Product Administration viewers?
Sahara: “No matter whether or not you’re in B2B or B2C, it’s essential to index in your client. As Product Managers, we’re on the epicenter, studying the enterprise challenges and consumer challenges. Doc these insights and share them. It advantages pitch decks, QBRs, advertising and marketing collateral—everybody within the group. Finally, you’re ensuring every division can delight the shoppers. We would like them to really feel that we’re shocking them with next-level experiences. That’s the enjoyable half!”
February 26, 2025
